Safe Space for mental health emergencies may open at Wakefield venue in new year

Plans to use The Art House, near the city's Westgate Railway Station, to accommodate adults needing emergency help have been revealed.

The local NHS has been running a listening support service for those in crisis since October on Friday and Saturday nights amid a huge rise in calls to crisis helplines linked to the pandemic.

Because of Covid however, the service has only been operating over Zoom and the telephone.

But Wakefield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) says it wants to expand the programme to a face-to-face service that would run seven days a week.

Speaking during a discussion about the pandemic's impact on mental health at a scrutiny meeting last week, the CCG's Paul Howatson said the local NHS had bid for a grant to help fund the plan.

He said that if the cash came through, "This would extend the recently opened and recently commissioned Safe Space which will hopefully be opening a physical safe space at the Art House in central Wakefield before too long.

"If we were successful in getting that money that would stretch it to seven days a week, which would then offer a real alternative to Crisis. There would be a real presence.

"Because of the pandemic there is an excessively growing need for that kind of support."

The news follows criticism of the government regarding the amount of money being put towards mental health services in Wakefield.

Councillor Betty Rhodes, chair of the local health scrutiny panel, said that an extra £1m, announced by the Department of Health last month, was "not an uplift" when previous cuts to services over several years were taken into account.

The Wakefield Safe Space can be contacted between 6pm and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays on 07776962815.

The Samaritans, which runs a 24/7 listening service for anyone in need, can be called on 116 123.

Local Democracy Reporting Service